Neiva, Villa Vieja and the Tatacoa Desert

Neiva is the capital city of the department of Huila and just 442 metres above sea level (with an average temperature of 28ºC). It has a population of just over 370,000 and is on the banks of the River Magdalena.

There is not much to see in Neiva. There is a park along the banks of the Magdalena, Parque Isla del Mohan, which is run down but it is possible to see a lot of bird life there. In the park is a viewing platform from where you can see up and down the Magdalena and get some idea of how big it is. From the viewing platform there is a cable car which runs to a large Island in the middle of the Magdalena, El Parque Isla La Gaitana. Apparently you can also get a boat there.

Neiva is a city of trees and has a large number of open spaces. Most of the streets are tree lined and the squares have a large number of trees. There is also a large amount of public art in the form of statues and monuments. However these are dotted throughout the city and probably not easy to visit via a walking tour.

There a a several hotels listed in the Guia de Rutas and it shouldn't be too hard to find one. We stayed in the Gran Hotel on Plaza Santandar, it was OK but we've stayed in nicer for less, I wouldn't recommend it.

Plaza in Neiva

Strutures in Parque Isla del Mohan.
Climbing Wall (left), Viewing Platform (right).

Looking down the Magdalena from
Viewing Platform in Parque Isla del Mohan.
This is just a small branch of the river.

Spectacled Parrot in Parque Isla del Mohan.

The main terminal is on carrera 7 No. 3-76S. It is about 30 minutes walk from the centre of Neiva. In the terminal is a taxi office where you can get a ticket for your journey telling you how much it will cost. There is a regular bus service between Bogota and Neiva, the journey usually takes 5 hours.

Further Information:

• Wikipedia Spanish wikipedia page on Neiva.

Villa Vieja is a very pleasent colonial village which is one hour from Neiva. Villa Vieja is the main access point for the Tatacoa Desert (see below). The village is built around a large square with a few bars and an excellent hotel and restaurant (Hotel la Casona).

Villa Vieja claims to be the centre of Colombian paleontology. They found the skeleton of the largest land mammal ever found in South America near the village. There is a tacky statue of the mammal in the centre of the main plaza. There is also a paleontology musuem on the main plaza which is housed in a very beautiful building. Unfortunatley the collection isn't particularly spectacular (but does include some of the skeleton of the pre-mentioned mammal).

Hotel La Casona is a beautiful colonial building on the main plaza of Villa Vieja. It has one double room (20,000COP per night) and two large dorm rooms (15000COP per night). The hotel is also a restaurant and they will can provide 3 meals a day to guests. This is the nicest hotel we've stayed in in Colombia. Telephone 879 7636, Cellular 312 377 3279. Email or .

Paleontology Museum.

Hotel Casona.

Crossing the Magdalena.

You can get to Villa Vieja from Neiva. There are regular buses that leave once they're full, it takes about 1 hour from Neiva and costs 5000COP. There is also a canoe that crosses the River Magdalena between Villa Vieja and Aipe (2000COP). Aipe is about 45 minutes closer to Bogota than Neiva and so the ferry route is a good way to avoid travelling through Neiva (and save 1 hour 45 minutes from your journey between Villa Vieja and Bogota). Residents in Villa Vieja can advise you how to get to the Magdalena, once there you need to shout for the ferry man. The ferry will drop you off on the other side of the river and you need to follow a (muddy) footpath (up stream) for about 15 minutes to reach the centre of Aipe. From Aipe you can catch a taxi to the main road (2000COP) and from there catch a bus to Bogota.

The Tatacoa Desert is not actually a desert, it is a dry tropical forest. However it has some very desert like features. There are three main areas of the "desert": El Cuzco looks very desert like with large red natural rock formations, The majority of the "desert" is made from grey sand dunes and there is also a forested part.

From the moment you arrive in Villa Vieja you will be hassled by guides who want to take you into the desert. They are all very friendly though. The closest part of the "desert" is El Cuzco which takes about 20 minutes by moto-taxi. El Cuzco is also where the observatory is located from where you can do some star gazing at night.

There are a variety of different things to be done in the "desert.

The most popular for one day is to pay a guide to take you via moto-taxi to different areas of the "desert". This is a good option because the most interesting areas are quite far apart. The tour involves several short (40 minute) walks and takes about 4 hours in total. You should wear closed shoes (for visiting the forest which is full of poisonous thorns) and take swimming gear so you can go swimming in a rather strange and small swimming pool in the middle of the desert. The tour costs 60,000COP.

A lot of people opt to stay in the desert. The guides in Villa Vieja can organise this. There are either tents near the observatory or a hut with dorm beds a bit further along from the observatory.

There is apparently a 3 day walk around the whole "desert" that involves walking for 8 hours per day. Personally I think there are better ways to use 3 days in Colombia. You've pretty much seen the "desert" after 4 hours.

Rock Formations in El Cuzco.

The Grey Area of the Tatacoa.

There are lots of Large Cacti in the
Tatacoa, Some over 4 metres high.

Further Information:

• Wikipedia English wikipedia page on the Tatacoa Desert.
• Cyclist Journal A blog from a cyclist who cycled through Villa Vieja and the Tatacoa desert. He also used the ferry between Villa Viaja and Aipe (and got the same amused looks in Aipe).
• Hostel Trail A page on hostel trail about the Tatacoa desert.